What are skin tags?
A skin tag is a small growth of soft hanging skin that can appear on the:
- Neck
- Eyelids
- Armpits
- Groin area
- Upper chest
- Under the breasts
Skin tags are usually flesh-colored or slightly brownish, and the surface may be smooth or irregular in appearance.
The exact cause of skin tags isn’t clear, but they may be the result of clusters of collagen protein and blood vessels becoming trapped inside thicker pieces of skin.
What are the treatments for skin tags?
When necessary, your Elite skincare specialist removes skin tags and usually recommends over-the-counter therapies, excision, or cryotherapy.
Removing skin tags can involve any of the following surgeries:
- Excision, in which the tag is cut out with a scalpel
- Ligation, in which the blood supply to the skin tag is interrupted
- Cauterization, in which the skin tag is burned off with electrolysis
- Cryosurgery, in which the skin tag is frozen off using liquid nitrogen
What are warts?
Common warts are small skin growths that typically occur on your hands and fingers. The skin texture of warts feels rough and may feature a pattern of tiny clotted blood vessels that resemble black dots on the skin.
Some people choose to remove their warts, often due to cosmetic reasons. Most common warts are caused by the human papillomavirus. The virus has over 150 types, but only a few of these cause warts to appear on the hands. Some strains of HPV are sexually transmitted and can lead to genital warts.
Most forms of HPV are spread by casual skin contact or through shared objects like washcloths and towels. The virus can spread through breaks and cuts in your skin.
What are the treatments for warts?
The goal of treatment is to destroy the wart and stimulate your body’s immune system response to fight the virus.
Salicylic acid
Prescription-strength topical salicylic acid works by removing layers of a wart a little bit at a time.
Cryotherapy
Cryotherapy is performed in-office and involves your Elite medical provider applying liquid nitrogen to your wart. Freezing causes a blister to form around and under your wart, and the dead tissue sloughs off within a week or two following your appointment.
Minor surgery
During a minor surgery, your Elite medical provider cuts away any bothersome tissue.
Laser treatment
Special laser treatments can cauterize tiny blood vessels, causing the infected tissue to die and the wart to fall off.
For quality skin care, call or click to visit Elite Dermatology.
Elite Dermatology has 4 convenient locations in Texas. We happily treat patients in Houston, Fulshear,
Kingwood, Vintage Park, and the Heights.
